Everyone is concern about privacy and security online, and online tracking is a problem that has worried internet net users for many years. Cookies are used by web sites and advertisers to build up a profile of your online activity, and there is often no way of knowing just how this information will be used. Ghostery is a browser extension that is available for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari that can be used to discover exactly what information particular web sites are tracking about you and back control.

The add-on reveals all of the tracking features that can be hidden in the pages you visit and identifies the companies responsible for them. You are then equipped with the information you need to conduct online research about the companies in question and discover more about their privacy policies and how they use the information they track.

While this is useful information, the key feature of Ghostery is the fact that it enables you to block these tracking features. The simple popup interface makes it easy to block cookies and other tracking files, as well as scripts and any files that have been added locally. Ghostery can block tracking components from a growing list of companies to ensure protection against all of the latest tracking methods.

The Firefox, Chrome and Safari versions of the tool will detect tracker scripts, img tags, and iframes from over 500 data collection services, but Internet Explorer users will find that the add-on is less useful simply because of the way the browser works.

Verdict:

Anyone who uses the internet is right to be concerned about privacy, and Ghostery provides an easy way to remain in control.

Spotlight: Free Full Software

WhatsApp Messenger is the world's most popular instant messaging app for smartphones.

You can use it to send and receive text and voice messages, photos, videos, even call your friends in other countries, and because it uses your phone's internet connection it might not cost you anything at all (depending on whether you'll pay data charges).

It's easy to set up and use. There's no need to create and remember new account names or pins because it works with your phone number, and uses your regular address book to find and connect you with friends who use WhatsApp already.

You can talk one-to-one or in group chats, and because you're always logged in there's no way to miss messages. Even if your phone is turned off, WhatsApp will save your messages and display them as soon as you're back online.

There's plenty more (location sharing, contact exchange, message broadcasting) and the app is free for a year, currently $0.99/ year afterwards.